McDonald, Balanda & Associates’ services to you are based on our commitment to continuing quality improvement. We aim to achieve and maintain quality assurance standards of excellence through investment in training, technology and other areas enabling the firm to serve all clients better. Our standards can be observed throughout our entire operation which is led by individuals of integrity with commitment to the firm, its ideals and the community.

McDonald, Balanda & Associates will maintain a true client focus through continual communication with clients, making the firm readily accessible and easy to do business with. Our purpose is to serve our clients in a personal and friendly manner.

McDonald, Balanda & Associates seeks to create a working environment in which everyone, including clients, staff and colleagues are of equal importance. Our aim is to achieve a visible, dynamic office culture underpinned by high ethical and professional standards.

BACKGROUND
McDonald Balanda & Associates is a long established Gold Coast legal firm which provides a wide range of legal services to its clients based on a philosophy of personal service and expertise.

The firm was established by John McDonald in central Surfers Paradise in 1970 and has grown steadily since that time. In 1981 Robert Balanda became a partner of the firm followed by Tony Lenan, who was admitted as a partner in 1989 with Jonathan Flannery following in 1993, Antony Knox in 1996, and Mitchell Clark in 2002. Tony Lenan resigned from the partnership in mid 2003 but remains with the firm as a senior consultant.

SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND CLIENTELE
The partners and lawyers have developed various specialities within the firm, but have always involved themselves in a wide diversity of areas of practice and have been intricately involved in the legal work that has accompanied the enormous expansion of the Gold Coast region over the past thirty years.

CLIENTELE
The firm acts for many large organisations such as the Gold Coast City Council, Insurance Companies, Property Developers, a large number of Gold Coast, interstate and overseas business people and Corporations. The firm also has a strong practice in Migration Law, Management Rights and Body Corporate Law. We highly value our many small and medium size business clients and professional people who have been the backbone of our firm along with the many non-professionals who require our guidance, services and advice from time to time.

COMMERCIAL AND PROPERTY SERVICES
In the commercial and property areas this involvement has resulted in first-hand experience and expertise in property development including site acquisitions, re-zoning, high-rise unit developments, and of course residential conveyancing. Our involvement in these areas of the law incorporates work in various ancillary commercial activities including the flotation of public companies, franchising, mortgage and general securities work, town planning and numerous other commercial services. We are able to advise on all migration and visa matters.

LITIGATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION SERVICES
The firm prides itself on being able to provide a full range of services to all of our clients. We have an experienced litigation and dispute resolution division. These lawyers have a wealth of experience in industrial relations, personal injury and insurance law, workers compensation matters, general debt collection and insolvency, contractual and commercial disputes, insurance disputes, planning & environment law, and many other areas of law. Two of our partners are qualified mediators and every effort is made to utilise alternative dispute resolution processes.

The firm also has a very well qualified and efficient Family Law division headed by our consultant, Barry Morwood.

JAPANESE CLIENT SERVICES
McDonald Balanda & Associates have created a separate Department within the firm to help with the legal needs of Japanese people.

The Department has been specially designed to help local Japanese people on the Gold Coast, as well as Japanese people in Brisbane, Cairns and Sydney. The Department is also equipped to respond to direct enquiries from Japan.

The Department includes Seiji Iseki, who is one of the few Japanese Lawyers admitted to practice Law in Queensland. Mr Iseki has a range of support services, including a Japanese Secretary, Tomoko Sakai.

Communication should present no difficulties, because Japanese people can communicate (both verbally and in writing) in Japanese with both Mr Iseki and Tomoko Sakai.

Other legal firms may offer to help Japanese people, but they do not have a Japanese Lawyer, so that there may often be problems with communication (as well as extra costs for translators and interpreters).

The Japanese Law Department, within McDonald Balanda & Associates, is a unique operation. It combines the understanding of language and culture, wth high-quality legal expertise and experience.

Depending upon the nature of the legal matter, Mr Iseki is able to draw on the knowledge, in a wide range of areas, of the other Lawyers working within the firm.

In addition, Mr Iseki has connections with other legal experts, including experienced Barristers, Medical Specialists and other Experts.

An example of one of Mr Iseki's connections is an association with Mr Russ Clutterbuck, an experienced Barrister in the areas of Family and Criminal Law. Mr Clutterbuck was a Crown Procecutor for a number of years in Sydney, where he was involved specifically in Criminal cases involving Japanese people. Mr Clutterbuck now works as a private Barrister, and can use his past experience as a Prosecutor to defend Japanese people in Criminal cases.

SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY
We are actively involved in and maintain contact with many different groups within the Gold Coast community. We are affiliated with such groups as Apex, Rotary, The Citizens Advice Bureau, the Gold Coast Sexual Assault Support Service and the Gold Coast Welfare Inter-agency. We have periodically arranged and given seminars to a number of Gold Coast welfare groups. Most of our partners have been engaged as part-time lecturers at the Gold Coast Institute of TAFE, Bond University and The Real Estate Institute of Queensland and we are actively involved with local business groups and organisations.

In short, the firm has developed a wealth of experience and local knowledge in over thirty years of practice in the fastest growing region in Australia.

. . . AND TO YOU

We have never lost sight of the need to provide personal attention to each and every client and this is summed up in the firm’s motto –

"We're Here to Help You"

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